Monday, March 29, 2010

Old Sam: Dakota Trotter

Old Sam: Dakota Trotter by Don Alonzo Taylor 153 pp. Bethlehem Books

Old Sam is not any kind of horse. He is a thoroughbred trotter. While crossing an old bridge, Old Sam unexpectedly gets his leg caught in a rotted board, breaking his leg. Dismayed at the idea of killing such a beautiful horse, the nearby children beg the owner not to shoot him. Moved by their compassion and not able to race him any more, he changes his mind and offers the horse to them.

So begins the exciting adventures of Johnny, Lee, and Sam. Set during the Westward Expansion, the narrator is Johnny, a young boy of seven who moves with his family from Illinois to the North Dakota Territory.

More than an exciting story of two boys' adventures. It is also a tale of a young boy striving to be virtuous. In addition, Old Sam presents a slice of life during the 1880s: Blizzards, thieves, plowing and threshing, Winter nights and Fourth of July celebrations.